To produce motor vehicle bodies, use is normally made of motor vehicle structural components and body components. These are normally manufactured from sheet steel, such that, firstly, adequate freedom in terms of shaping is obtained, and secondly, adequate strength is achieved. Here, the production method normally provides for a sheet-metal blank to be provided which is placed into a deformation tool, in particular into a pressing deformation tool, and which is then deformed by pressing, such that the sheet-metal component is finally shaped to form a motor vehicle component.
In the context of the logical demand for lightweight construction, motor vehicle body components and in particular motor vehicle structural components are produced by way of hot working and press hardening in order to lower the specific component weight with the use of a steel alloy, while at least maintaining or else increasing strength.
Alternatively, motor vehicle components are produced from light metal, wherein here, use is made in particular of aluminum alloys. In this case, too, sheet-metal blanks produced by rolling and composed of light metal, in particular of aluminum, are provided, which are placed into a pressing deformation tool and are finally shaped to form the motor vehicle component.
To further improve the component characteristics with regard to a decreasing component weight while at least maintaining or else increasing stiffness, components with mutually different wall thicknesses are produced. Those component regions which are intended to exhibit high stiffness and/or high resistance forces in the event of a vehicle crash have, for this purpose, an increased wall thickness, and component regions which are subjected to lower load, have a relatively small wall thickness. To produce the components, sheet-metal blanks produced by rolling and with mutually different wall thickness are provided, which are known as Tailored Material. A Tailored Blank Material of said type is produced either by flexible rolling (Tailor Rolled Blank) or else by virtue of sheet-metal blanks with mutually different wall thickness being welded together (Tailor Welded Blank).
The production costs of such Tailored Materials are relatively high, wherein the width of the transition regions of the various wall thicknesses to one another is for example dependent on the degree of rolling or else the thermal joining in the case of a welded Tailored Plate. The joining furthermore gives rise to stressors in the starting material, and can give rise to a weak point in the subsequent component.